She’s part Batman, part Mary Poppins, and all hero.
Supernanny Cindy Gaston, in a death-defying display of bravery, plucked a 4-year-old boy from the path of a stolen Jeep that missed killing them both by inches.
â€œI had no time to think,â€ the gutsy 25-year-old said Friday in her Brooklyn apartment, just hours after her release from Bellevue Hospital.
â€œI felt like I was in a movie watching myself. I didnâ€™t think I could do it â€” react that fast, run that fast, carry the little boy, all in a split second.â€
The great Gaston, left on crutches by the terrifying wreck, needed neither a utility belt nor an umbrella for her Thursday afternoon heroics in Greenwich Village.
The Brooklyn-born baby-sitter was standing at the corner of 13th St. and Fifth Ave. with Jonathan Meltzer, waiting for the bus bringing his sister home from a New Jersey summer camp.
â€œI saw that green car coming right at us,â€ Gaston recalled.
Gaston â€” who was holding the boyâ€™s hand â€” shouted â€œRun!â€ at the top of her lungs and then swung into action as the Jeep careened across traffic and toward the sidewalk.
â€œI grabbed him, lifted him up and started running,â€ she recounted.
The speeding Jeep hopped the sidewalk, smashed through a traffic light and some scaffolding, and then screeched to a halt. Gaston, holding Jonathan in front of her with both hands, was clipped on the back of her leg by the Jeep. Another few feet and the fleeing vehicle would have crushed her and the child.
As several good Samaritans came to Gastonâ€™s aid, the shirtless and shoeless driver abandoned the Jeep and sprinted from the wreck. Dezmon Sardina, 19, was arrested in a nearby cemetery.
The Teaneck, N.J., man was hit with seven criminal charges ranging from robbery to reckless endangerment. He stole the Jeep from his 20-year-old girlfriend after knocking her down on Second Ave., cops said.
The rescued boyâ€™s mother was overwhelmed by her nannyâ€™s alertness and agility in the face of impending doom.
â€œShe totally saved my childâ€™s life,â€ said Chandra Meltzer, 39.
Meltzer said the nanny even called her from the back of the ambulance with word of the accident and assurances that her son was just fine. The little boy wound up with a minor bruise on his back, but is otherwise fine.
Gaston was recovering at home Friday. Her left leg was banged up and the pain was intense, but she was eager to reconnect with the fortunate boy and his older sister.
â€œThe kids are so sweet,â€ she said. â€œThe sweetest children in the world. Iâ€™m so happy that I was able to do this.â€